Fake tech gear has infiltrated the U.S. government
Executive Summary:
The U.S. military and dozens of other federal agencies have recorded that they have used a record number of fake technological products. There are laws in place that require these departments to order from approved suppliers but these suppliers are still selling to the U.S. government. The number of products in the U.S. government’s hands from these suppliers, labeled as “high risk”, has risen to 63% in the past decade. These counterfeit products can cause great harm. For example, In September 2010 the Missile Defense Agency found that a part in a missile’s computer was counterfeit and had the bomb launched, it most likely would have failed. The cost to fix the problem was $2.7 million. Also, in 2008 the FBI seized $76 million of counterfeit routers that could have allowed Chinese hackers a backdoor into the U.S. government networks.
Analysis:
This opens countless national security risks, from ineffective weapons to cyber espionage. Detecting counterfeit technology is very difficult. Once they've figured out how to test for these counterfeits, the “high risk” suppliers have figured out how to get around the tests. Vivek Kamath, formerly the head of Raytheon’s stated in the article, "It’s literally on almost a daily basis they change. The sophistication of the counterfeiting is amazing to us". One part of the problem is that government agencies are buying from authorized vendors but those vendors are purchasing their materials from “high risk” suppliers. In order to prevent counterfeit products from being purchased, the U.S. government needs to have strict policies with their vendors to ensure the entire supply chain comes from approved vendors. Also, they need to strictly enforce their policy of purchasing from authorized vendors.
Executive Summary:
The U.S. military and dozens of other federal agencies have recorded that they have used a record number of fake technological products. There are laws in place that require these departments to order from approved suppliers but these suppliers are still selling to the U.S. government. The number of products in the U.S. government’s hands from these suppliers, labeled as “high risk”, has risen to 63% in the past decade. These counterfeit products can cause great harm. For example, In September 2010 the Missile Defense Agency found that a part in a missile’s computer was counterfeit and had the bomb launched, it most likely would have failed. The cost to fix the problem was $2.7 million. Also, in 2008 the FBI seized $76 million of counterfeit routers that could have allowed Chinese hackers a backdoor into the U.S. government networks.
Analysis:
This opens countless national security risks, from ineffective weapons to cyber espionage. Detecting counterfeit technology is very difficult. Once they've figured out how to test for these counterfeits, the “high risk” suppliers have figured out how to get around the tests. Vivek Kamath, formerly the head of Raytheon’s stated in the article, "It’s literally on almost a daily basis they change. The sophistication of the counterfeiting is amazing to us". One part of the problem is that government agencies are buying from authorized vendors but those vendors are purchasing their materials from “high risk” suppliers. In order to prevent counterfeit products from being purchased, the U.S. government needs to have strict policies with their vendors to ensure the entire supply chain comes from approved vendors. Also, they need to strictly enforce their policy of purchasing from authorized vendors.